Alcoholism and the family : a comparison of the family environments of newly diagnosed alcoholic families and alcoholic families after two years in A.A. & Al-Anon

This study examined the environment of the family of the male alcoholic. Data of two groups of alcoholic families were compared. One group consisted of newly diagnosed alcoholics and their wives (pretreatment families). The other group consisted of alcoholics who had been involved in Alcoholics Anonymous for at least two years and whose wives had been involved in Al-Anon for at least two years (posttreatment families). Orford, Oppenheimer, Egert, and Hensman's (1977) proposal describing alcoholic behavior of one family member as an aspect of the functioning of the family system guided the study.